SO LONG, AND THANKS FOR ALL THE KIX

by Sue Hodges Grant

Forty years ago, KIX performed at a glorious rock ‘n’ roll dive in Essex, Md., called The Seagull Inn. As a journalism major at Loyola College with the burning desire to become a music journalist, I invited a few preppy classmates along to force them out from under their lite rock boulders.

One Izod-clad friend blathered on about Bryan Adams most of the evening during the forgettable opening acts until I broke down when KIX blasted onto the stage: “STOP ALREADY ABOUT BRYAN ADAMS! Listen to this band! This is what rock ‘n’ roll is about. This is down ‘n’ dirty, in-your-face rock and KIX is the band to put the Baltimore hard rock scene on the map.”

That wasn’t just a lucky guess, however, as the band possessed the indisputable musical chops – plus the unbridled charisma of lead vocalist Steve Whiteman – to rock the world. There wasn’t a doubt KIX was destined for something beyond the confines of Mid-Atlantic dive bars.

And then suddenly decades evaporated like a momentary fog of warm breath on a winter-frozen glass pane. Time passes in an instant with memories left in its stead, and on Sept. 17, when KIX takes the stage for the final time for “KIX … Walkin’ Away, The Final Show,” it’s bound to produce the same bittersweet effect.

During the band’s M3 Festival set at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Md., on May 7, 2023, KIX’s frontman extraordinaire shocked fans with gut-wrenching news the band was retiring from live performances. Walking to the stage edge and then crossing back and forth to interact with the audience, he stated, “I wanna make an announcement here, and it’s gonna be probably a little hard to get through, but I wanna do it anyway because we want you all to know. We’ve decided that after 45 years of doing this, I think we’re gonna call it a career. Not tonight. We’re gonna do a show here September 17.

“I know it sucks, doesn’t it? But It’s been a long, long, long road.”

Peering back in the rear-view mirror, in 1981 (about a month after MTV launched its round-the-clock music video format) KIX released its eponymous debut, “KIX,” on Atlantic Records. The band formed about three years prior to the major label signing and were initially known as The Shooze. The name then briefly changed to The Generators (and allegedly they considered calling the band The Baltimore Cocks for a fleeting moment!) before settling on the apropos moniker, KIX. The Western Maryland-based fivesome – consisting of Whiteman, guitarists Brian “Damage” Forsythe and Ronnie “10/10” Younkins, bassist Donnie Purnell and drummer Jimmy “Chocolate” Chalfant – blasted roofs off regional venues as they toured incessantly along the East Coast, gathering a legion of loyal fans and garnering radio airplay.

The second studio release in 1983, “Cool Kids,” included guitarist Brad Divens (Wrathchild/Wrathchild America/Souls at Zero) who replaced Younkins in the studio and performed some regional gigs with KIX. Eventually the original guitarist reunited with the band for more constant touring while KIX indefatigably stayed on the road, crushing each club date, and amassing more ardent fans.

1985: “Midnite Dynamite” brought a return of Younkins into the recording studio. The 10-track album produced by Beau Hill provided a heavier KIX sound with razor-edgy hooks to grab the listener from start to finish. More airplay. MANY more devoted fans. Nonstop touring. MTV put the video to “Cold Shower” on its channel (but not in enough rotation!).

Then IT happened. With the 1988 release of “Blow My Fuse,” the band’s fourth studio album, KIX mined gold (and eventually platinum in 2000) with the 10-track powerhouse recording produced by Tom Werman. This explosive release put KIX on the rock ‘n’ roll map with singles “Cold Blood” and “Get It While It’s Hot,” but the band’s ethereal and emotionally-charged ballad, “Don’t Close Your Eyes,” moved KIX out of sold-out, mid-sized clubs and into arenas befitting a gold-crowned act.

In February 1989, three months prior to the ballad’s release and subsequent Top 20 Billboard position making KIX a worldwide commodity, I interviewed Whiteman for a ROX Magazine cover story. The ebullient frontman admitted, “This has been the best timing we’ve ever had with an album. Werman loved the band and said, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!’ So, we said, ‘Great attitude,’ and we got to make OUR album. I don’t think that we’ll miss this time around. And if this ever does take off, it will be so sweet.”

When the album was gold-certified by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), ROX – once again – spoke with Whiteman about his thoughts on selling 500,000 copies of “Blow My Fuse.” As ever, the humble lead vocalist acknowledged the fans: “It’s nice to make the hometown proud of you because they’ve been the supporters all these years. It was nice to come home and hold up a gold album and say, ‘Yeah, we finally did it.’ I know the area was just as thrilled about it as we were. I just wish we could give ‘em all a gold album.”

The hometown fans – and far-reaching devotees – recognized KIX possessed a fundamental element setting the group apart from the others rocking and ruling the ‘80s. As true today as it was when the band formed, it’s the undeniable chemistry between the members as well as the audience.

In a 1989 ROX interview, Whiteman pinpointed the band’s foundation to rock ‘n’ roll success: “I think this band just gels. We just get out there and the chemistry just comes together; it’s different. I’ve never seen a band do what we do. I mean every member is into it. There is something special about this band, and the audience gets into that.”

To this day, zealous fans continue to support the “dirty boys of the underground.” Through Seattle grunge (which served as the death knell for the band’s fifth studio release in 1991, “Hot Wire”), the 1996 breakup of the band, and the reformation in 2003 sans bassist Purnell with the addition of bassmeister Mark Schenker, audiences flock to experience KIX’s unparalleled live shows.

From long-ago New Year’s Eve concerts at the famed Hammerjacks in Baltimore to the Sooner State’s Rocklahoma to Rockingham in Nottingham, England, to consistently sold-out performances for the hometown crowd at Ramshead (Were you there in 2009 when Whiteman lost a bet and had to wear a dress for the encore?), the high-octane antics of the frontman with his tangible audience rapport along with the hook-laden, hard rockin’ songs performed by high-caliber musicians, KIX has provided 45 years of balls-out live shows for the fans.

And with seven studio albums, three live releases, compilations, a documentary DVD, re-issues, a boxed set, and – what might be concluded – hundreds of thousands of touring miles in over four-and-a-half decades, the rock ‘n’ roll clock has neared midnight for KIX.

Whiteman confesses “my health is failing.” And with Chalfant’s cardiac arrest during a November 2022 performance in Virginia, he also admits, “Jimmy’s health is definitely failing … So, it’s sad, but it’s just time. You know, you know when it’s time. It’s like an athlete: You know when it’s time, and I think it’s time. I’m tired.”

He adds, laughing, “I can’t f*cking do this anymore.”

“KIX … Walkin’ Away, The Final Show” on Sept. 17 closes a glorious chapter of the Hagerstown, Md., quintet that never failed to entertain and gave its dedicated fans indelible rock ‘n’ roll memories. For Whiteman, it’s always been about the fans.

“We wanted to do this show for our fans,” Whiteman admits. “We owe a lot to them for their never-ending support over our long 45-year career. It was tempting to just fade away and stop booking gigs and ride off into the sunset, but we wanted our fans to be part of a local farewell show and give them a chance to see the band one last time.”

On Sept. 17, the original band members of Whiteman, Forsythe, Younkins, Chalfant, and longtime bassist Schenker take a well-deserved bow for the band’s swansong performance. Also performing with KIX will be guitarist Bob Paré, who has been a mainstay while replacing Younkins. And there will be special guests to assist in tearing down the house for the final show. According to an August 29 interview with Whiteman on the Eddie Trunk Sirius XM Show, the frontman acknowledged that Younkins will play three or four songs with the band and “Cool Kids” guitarist, Divens, will also join the band onstage for a few songs.

Whiteman concludes, “I just want everyone to end up on their feet and celebrate all the good times we’ve had over the years. It’s a party and you are all invited!”

Thank you, KIX, for the unforgettable rock ‘n’ roll magic; it’s been one helluva party for the past 45 years!